Research Guides: IDS 3301: Human Dignity / Common Good: Herstory: Women and Community: Primary Sources

What is a Primary Source?

Primary sources are those which were either created during the time period being studied or were created at a later date by a participant in the events being studied (memoirs, for example). They reflect the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer. Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period.

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Link to our research guide on Primary Sources

Medieval Studies Collections

Medieval Sourcebook: Sex and Gender
This huge collection of well-organized primary texts is a good place to start your search.
Avalon Project
Digital documents relevant to the fields of law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy and government from ancient times to the 21st century.
De Re Militari
Primary (and secondary) sources on medieval and renaissance military history. Includes the Crusades, Hundred Years' War, Anglo-Norman Warfare, and the Vikings and Norse.
English Medieval Legal Documents A.D. 600 - A.D. 1535
A "collaborative database on the published sources of English medieval legal documents." Links to online sources are provided when available.
Epistolae: Medieval Women's Letters
"Epistolæ is a collection of letters to and from women in the Middle Ages, from the 4th to the 13th century. The letters, written in Latin, are linked to the names of the women involved, with English translations and, where available, biographical sketches of the women and some description of the subject matter or the historic context of the letter."
EuroDocs: History of Medieval and Renaissance Europe
Subset of the larger EuroDocs Site focusing on the medieval period.
Florilegium Urbanum
Presents a selection of primary source texts illustrative of various aspects of medieval urban life. Texts are grouped under four headings: community, economy, government and lifecycle.
Guide to Early Church Documents
Canonical information, apostolic fathers, texts, creeds and canons, and other miscellaneous texts related to the development of the early Christian church.
Hanover Historical Texts Project: Middle Ages
Small collection of letters of Crusaders.
Internet Sacred Text Archive
Archive of primary texts relating to all major world religions and many other spiritual practices, including all major scriptures.
Islamic Medical Manuscripts
Here you can learn about Islamic medicine and science during the Middle Ages and the important role it played in the history of Europe.
Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies
Provides subject-oriented links to other websites offering primary sources of the medieval period.
Late Medieval Illustrated Manuscripts from the Bibliotheca Palatina
A Cooperative Digitization Project of Heidelberg University Library and the Institute for Art History of Heidelberg University - supported by German Research Foundation
Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts Collection
This is a work in progress from the University of Texas at Austin. When complete, the database will provide full digital access to 215 manuscripts dating from the 11th to 17th centuries
Medieval History Texts in Translation
Translated texts of the Pontificate of Gregory VII; the Crusades; the Norman Kingdom of Sicily; and the Chronicle of St. Clement, Casauria. From the University of Leeds.
Monastic Matrix
Excellent site dedicated to the study of women's religious communities from 400 to 1600CE. Includes a separate section of primary sources, which can be browsed by title/author/community/region/century. Search function also available.
Netserf: The Internet Connection for Medieval Resources
Subject-oriented links to medieval primary sources.
Online Medieval and Classical Library
A collection of some of the most important literary works of Classical and Medieval civilization. Browse by author/title/genre/language.
Primary Source Material in Religion and Politics
Primary source documents on issues relating to the interaction of religion and politics, categorized by era from ancient times to the present.
Silk Road Narratives
Historical texts and maps that "explore cultural interaction across Eurasia from the beginning of the Common Era (A. D.) to the Seventeenth Century."
TEAMS Middle English Texts
Collection of medieval literature.
Travels of Marco Polo
An account of Polo's travels to Asia in the late 13th century.
World Digital Library: Browse by Time
Collection of manuscripts, books and visual resources. Select a date range of interest, then use limiters to focus search on a specific geography, date range, topic or type of resource.